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Ring Brooch

1400-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)

Ring brooches are the most common type of medieval brooch to survive. Their function was to fasten together fabrics, usually around the neck, and they were generally made as rings, with a long central pin. This example is unusually small, and may have served a decorative rather than practical function. The inscription is obscure: 'mierchi' means grace, or thanks; 'vivort' may be a misliterated word.

Object details

Categories
Jewellery
Metalwork
Object type
Ring brooch
Materials and techniques
Silver, engraved
Silver
Engraving
Brief description
Ring brooch, silver, with inscription, English, 1400-1500
Physical description
Ring brooch, silver, engraved on the obverse with an inscription in black letter, mierchi / vivort (thanks for life and strength). The reverse plain.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 1.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
'mierchi/vivort' (Obverse, in French, in black letter. This inscription is obscure: 'mierchi' means grace, or thanks; 'vivort' may be a misliterated word.)
Translation
Thanks for life and strength
Object history
Said to have been found in London.
Summary
Ring brooches are the most common type of medieval brooch to survive. Their function was to fasten together fabrics, usually around the neck, and they were generally made as rings, with a long central pin. This example is unusually small, and may have served a decorative rather than practical function. The inscription is obscure: 'mierchi' means grace, or thanks; 'vivort' may be a misliterated word.
Bibliographic references
  • Lightbown, Ronald. Medieval European Jewellery: with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1992, no. 27. p. 499.
  • Campbell, Marian, Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500, London, V&A Publishing, 2009, p. 57, fig. 56
  • Campbell, Marian. 'Found in London, made in London - London connections for some medieval metalwork in the Victoria & Albert Museum'. In: 'Hidden Histories and Records of Antiquity': Essays on Saxon and Medieval London for John Clark, Curator Emeritus, Museum of London, ed. by Jonathan Cotton, Jenny Hall, Jackie Keily, Roz Sherris and Roy Stephenson. London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Special Paper, 17. London: London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, 2014. ISBN 9780903290685.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
6809-1860

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O105208/ring-brooch-unknown/
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